


My Comfort, My Solace

by tcw



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-21 18:03:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2477447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tcw/pseuds/tcw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico has made the decision to remain at Camp Half Blood, to work on figuring out who he is. </p>
<p>Will is starting to fall for him, and in the process is also finding himself.</p>
<p>Picking up where Blood of Olympus left off, My Comfort, My Solace tells Nico and Will's story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

Nico found quickly that when Will suggested he “rest” in the infirmary, actual rest was the furthest thing from what he had in mind. As soon as he walked away from Percy and Annabeth, his burden growing a bit lighter with every step he took, he returned to Will as if he were a planet falling back into orbit, finding exactly where he was supposed to be.

Will was still leaning against the doorframe of the infirmary. When he realized that Nico was approaching, he straightened up quickly, ceasing his conversation with another child of Apollo. 

Nico offered a crooked smile. “I heard you needed some company?” He phrased the statement as a question, gauging Will’s reaction.

The blond boy grinned back, making Nico’s cheeks redden. “Definitely! Let’s get you set up in here.

Will strode through the doorway, stopping to introduce Nico to a fair-haired girl named Greta and a boy who looked about his age named Jamie, who had sparkling, ever-amused looking hazel eyes, which reminded Nico of Apollo himself. 

The child of Hades allowed himself to be guided through the infirmary where many demigods were resting as Greta made rounds with pain medication and ambrosia, and Jamie put fresh bandages over a camper’s arm.

“How many children of Ares are in here?” Nico asked.

Will smirked. “I’d say probably half of our patients here are. They have this habit of, um, biting off more than they can chew in battle."

Nico exhaled in such a manner that some might consider it a slight laugh. Will's eyes lit up when he noticed his amusement, and he went on. "I can't say they're the best patients, either," he said, lowering his voice. "They have this annoying habit of trying to leave before they're done recovering, and half the time they do so by just up and walking out."

"And I'm guessing you don't appreciate that?" Nico supplied. 

"Of course not! My patients reflect on me! And I can't just have them gallivanting around riddled with open wounds, now can I?" He gestured grandly at himself as he spoke.

"Now I'm starting to see some of that Apollo theatricality," Nico commented, nodding slowly at Will. 

Will chuckled good naturedly and led Nico into a small office in the back of this infirmary.

"Is this yours?" Nico asked, glancing around at a small desk and a supply cabinet. 

Will shrugged. "I mean, it was never given to me formally, but there aren't many other healers around and I'm the head counselor for Apollo. I guess I kind of inherited it. It's nice to have a little privacy here, though. You know, just considering how much time I spend here." He pulled bandages from the shelves of the cabinet and instructed Nico on how to cut them into strips properly, using the length of a forearm for reference. 

"What have you been up to these past few days when you've been AWOL?" Will asked, busying himself with organizing the medication on the top shelf of the storage unit. 

"Well, a lot of funerals," Nico said matter-of-factly, still focused on his work. 

Will's eyes widened as he realized he had forgotten one of the things that fell under Nico's new job description. "Oh gods, Nico, I hadn't even thought of that. Has everything gone alright? I wish I had been there for at least part of it for you..."

Nico's coal-colored eyes met Will's. "You're the first one to ask me how I've felt about them." As if catching himself being too transparent, his gaze snapped back down to the task at hand. "It's nice to see everyone being able to move on. And I guess you already know that there weren't too many deaths in this battle. It's just... It's a lot of pressure. And doing burial rites more than once in a day can get difficult. Oh, and I wouldn't want for you to ditch the infirmary. This is where you're supposed to be."

Will laughed a bit, but it was devoid of humor. "Yeah, I think I might have been going a little bit crazy in here. I haven't exactly left since we came back from battle."

"What?" Nico asked incredulously. 

"I mean, you know, I run back to the cabin to shower every once in a while, but I'd just rather be here where people need me."

"Do you even sleep in here?" 

"Maybe?" 

"Are you crazy?" 

"The cots are pretty comfortable! And I just don't want for the other healers to get too worn out..."

Nico only raised an eyebrow in response.

"Don't you give me that look, Mister I-Can't-Go-A-Day-Without-Raising-A-Skeleton-Army-And-Shadow-Travelling-To-Greece!"

"Okay, okay, truce," Nico said, trying to contain a small smile.

"So... I don't want to be a downer, but did you do burial rites or something for Leo?"

Nico nodded somberly. "Yeah, just a kind of ceremony. I just wanted to try to honor him. I think everyone appreciated it."

Will's hand hovered out slowly, eventually landing on top of Nico's in a comforting gesture. "That was really thoughtful of you to do that. I'm sure it meant a lot to everybody."

Allowing Will's hand to continue to rest on his for a moment, Nico attempted to steady his breathing. His heart was currently residing in his throat, and he wasn't quite sure where to look. He loathed the power that Will had over him, but he also knew that he would never try to escape from him. When he had decided that he was going to stay at Camp Half Blood, he was making a conscious effort to boost his own happiness. And if one thing was making Nico happy in that moment, it was Will. 

When Nico finally gathered the resolve to meet Will's gaze, the other boy's eyes were soft and reassuring. He moved his own hand away and continued organizing the cabinet's contents as if nothing had happened.


	2. II

"So it seemed like you managed to stay busy yesterday," Jason commented cheerfully over breakfast the next morning. He and Percy had started to join Nico at the Hades table for meals to combat loneliness for all of them; children of the Big Three, after all, were a rare breed. 

"Yeah," Nico grumbled, staring morosely down at his Cap'n Crunch. Jason and Percy were two of his closest friends, but he could not fathom how perky they both managed to be every morning. Jason had some (absolutely ridiculous, in Nico's opinion) philosophy about greeting every day like a new opportunity, and Percy was always in the mood for joking around and acquiring blue food. Today his plate featured a cerulean stack of French toast. 

"What were you up to?" Jason questioned further, attacking his eggs and bacon. 

"Helped Will out in the infirmary," Nico replied around a mouthful of sugary cereal. With any luck, the food in his mouth would prevent them from fully deciphering his statement-

"Will Solace?" Percy yelped excitedly. It turned out that he had taken to the Nico-related revelation like a fish to water. 

Some children of Hermes glanced up curiously to see what all of the fuss was about, and Nico suddenly became fascinated with a speck on the table, his dark hair falling to cover the blush that was forming on his cheeks. "Gods, Percy. Yeah, of course."

Jason and Percy exchanged a meaningful glance but they allowed the conversation to taper off, leaving Nico grateful. To cover the awkward silence that was forming, Percy asked Jason how his godly building projects were going, and Jason yammered on contentedly about enlisting the children of Hephaestus to assist him. 

Just as Nico was beginning to gain consciousness, the sugar in his cereal starting to find its way into his bloodstream, a shadow fell over the table. Nico glanced up to find Will sliding onto the bench across from him, into the seat next to Jason. 

"Hey!" he said warmly, his blue eyes finding Nico's.

"Hi?" Nico said, using the greeting to question his presence. Meanwhile, Percy and Jason seemed to be either having small seizures, or else they were trying to communicate their excitement to each other wordlessly. 

"I just wanted to see what you were up to today, Nico. I was going to go work on some swordplay after breakfast. I think I'm getting out of shape working so much in the infirmary."

"S-swordplay?" Nico asked, feeling stupid. "You want me to spar with you!"

"Yeah! If, you know, you're up for it," Will teased. 

Nico's eyebrow raised. "Sure. I've just never sparred with anyone here before."

"Really?" Will's apparent surprise made Nico's stomach sink a bit. Was there something wrong with that? Oh gods, he was going to do horribly. Knowing him, he would lose, get frustrated, and then accidentally summon a thousand long-dead soldiers to dispose of Will's body.

"Yeah, but it's just because we were, like, never at camp at the same time!" Percy covered smoothly. Nico's heart swelled in gratitude. "We don't trust our Nico with too many people." His heart deflated back to normal size, and he resisted the urge to kick Percy.

"Sparring sounds great," Nico said firmly, looking from Percy to Jason, warning them that if they wanted to survive breakfast them would keep their mouths shut.

"Great!" Will chirped. "I'll see you in half an hour. I should probably go. People are starting to look."

They certainly were; as Will moved from the thirteenth table to the eleventh, eyes trailed along with him, watching as he moved farther from Nico.

Nico slumped a bit, realizing that when Will was around, every inch of his body had been on red alert, every nerve that he had becoming a live wire. At least he suddenly felt more awake. Apparently Will Solace was just as effective as any espresso. 

Once Will was out of earshot, Percy and Jason burst into action. "Do you want me to help you warm up?" Percy said, his green eyes meeting Nico's expectantly.

At the same time, Jason asked, "Are you excited?" Jason himself appeared to be practically bouncing. It didn't really add to his intimidating, Roman-officer-esque image.

"This isn't a date," Nico chastised seriously, "so you guys shouldn't treat it like it is."

"Do you want it to be?" Percy asked innocently. He had never had much of a filter.

Nico gave him a look that could probably quite literally make daisies wither up. (He had never gotten along with the Demeter kids very well.)

"Okay, fine." Percy threw his hands up in defeat. "My offer still stands, though." 

Nico considered. "Fine," he agreed. "But you're going to be gone before Will arrives, right?" 

"Sir yes sir!" Percy saluted Nico.

************************************************************************************************************************************************** 

Nico was beginning to regret taking up Percy on his offer. He knew that Percy was one of the best at swordplay, and he should have expected that Percy wouldn't go too easily on him. 

"Hey, Percy?" Nico said, blocking the taller boy as he swung his sword in a downward arc. "Truce? I don't really want to get sweaty yet..." He cringed internally at how whiny that sounded. 

"Oh! Oh yeah, my bad." Percy let his sword arm go limp, dropping his weapon down to his side. He sized Nico up, and Nico suddenly felt very self conscious. Giving a sideways smile, Percy said, "You're going to be fine. Don't stress."

Nico made eye contact with the wall behind Percy, which was painted with symbols of the twelve Olympians. Naturally, Hades was absent, leaving Nico to be the odd one out once again. Apollo's lyre and the trident of Poseidon each offered him a tad bit of comfort, though. 

"You worried?" Percy nudged gently. 

"I'm always worried," Nico replied grumpily. He chastised himself, though. His time at camp would be just as awful as the last if he didn't try to communicate with people. And if he could do it with anyone, it would be Percy, who had become much less intimidating to him in the past few days. "I just... don't want to mess it up with Will," Nico added slowly.

"I get it!" Percy said earnestly. "For a long time, I felt like everything that came out of my mouth around Annabeth was absolutely dumb. I think for some reason we get all caught up in impressing people we care about. But that's stupid, if you ask me."

"Why's that?" 

"Because if they're worth your time, then they aren't going to be judging you anyway. And I'd say we both have pretty good taste." Percy was grinning as he checked his watch. "Hey, I'd better head out. Don't want to be in the way here."

As he sheathed his sword, Nico contemplated his words. Just as he was about to exit, Nico managed to speak. "Percy?" He turned. "Thanks for the advice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a longer chapter this time! And I'm having a good time involving some of the other demigods. Thoughts? Comments? Let me know!


	3. III

After a moment of idle alone time in which Nico strolled through the practice room, examining the decorated walls and swinging his sword aimlessly, Will entered the room. Light seemed to follow him in through the doorway; he gave Nico an easy smile, soothing his spirit in a way only he seemed to be able to. 

Will checked his cell phone- Nico had picked up on the fact that more and more demigods seemed to have them, especially at camp. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what Will was doing. "Checking in on the infirmary?"

Will slid his phone into his bag, shooting Nico a sheepish look. "Yeah. I just, you know, it's hard to leave it. I've practically lived there for the past few days."

"It's fine. Honestly, don't worry about it. Are you ready to warm up?" Will didn't need to know that he had already done that (and recieved a pep talk) from Percy beforehand.

Beginning to swing his sword gently, giving Nico the chance to block easily, Will began to share with him what had been going on in the infirmary in the ten hours that Nico had been absent. They had released a child of Ares that morning under the condition that they get in no physical altercations for the next four days. Will predicted that they would be seeing him once again within the next twenty-four hours.

Once Will seemed to be hitting his stride, his warm ups becoming stronger and more confident, Nico started to throw in his own jabs and cuts, starting to go on the offense. Of course, neither of them were focusing fully on their swordplay. What was truly occupying their attention was their conversation, which seemed to constantly flow between them effortlessly. Nico had never met another human (well, a living one) with whom he could speak so easily. 

"How did you get into the medical stuff?" Nico asked, his ivory face becoming slightly flushed as he continued to bat off Will's attacks. "Did you always know it was what you were meant to do?"

"Not really. When I came here I was ten, and I was trying to find my place in the Apollo crowd. A lot of stuff falls under my dad's control, so there are a ton of different gifts going on in that cabin."

"Your dad?" Nico asked quizzically, the words slipping out before he had fully formed the thought.

"Well, yeah." Will laughed. "Do I need to explain to you the basic concept of a demigod?"

Nico's blush deepened, but this time around it had nothing to do with physical exhaustion. "Nah, I just... I don't call Hades my dad."

"Yeah, I guess none of the gods would be considered model parents. But I guess having Hades as a father really wouldn't be ideal."

"Not really. But, hey, I got chauffeur out of it," Nico joked weakly.

Will gave him a small smile, though his face held little of its usual cheeriness. "Anyway, when I got here, Lee Fletcher took me under his wing. He was one of the best when it came to nearly everything Apollo. Archery, music, healing, the whole shebang. Archery has never been my thing. I'm tons better in hand to hand combat or sword fighting. I'd just rather be in the action instead of off at a distance, you know? And music was even worse. Even now, I only sing when my whole cabin is doing it. Gods, you wouldn't want to hear me do a solo. After we'd explored all of those things, Lee started to take me into the infirmary to help out, but a lot of the other campers thought I was young to be seeing all of that stuff. Lee stuck up for me, though, so I ended up being able to help. It was pretty clear that that was where I was supposed to be. I started to read every medical book I could get my hands on, and after the Apollo healers had taught me just about everything they possibly could, I started to be taught privately by Chiron. It's just always made sense to me, and on top of that, helping people has always... I don't know, have you ever felt like you're doing what you were put on earth to do? That's how I feel when I'm healing someone."

Will finished, quite out of breath as he finished his monologue, but continuing to block Nico's blows. 

"That's awesome," Nico said weakly. "And, uh, no, I don't think I have ever felt like I was doing exactly what I'm supposed to be or whatever."

Will met his eyes and lowered his sword, stopping in the middle of an attack. "That's not a big deal, Nico. I'm sure you get there."

"Y-yeah," Nico replied. Way to kill the mood, di Angelo, he thought to himself. 

Nico began to sheath his sword, assuming that the practice was over. 

"What are you doing?" Will laughed. "We didn't even get a chance to really fight!" 

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I mean if you're up for it, Mister Infirmary."

Will pointed his sword at Nico, eyeing him over the gleaming celestial bronze. "Hey, don't forget, you're the one that's all drained because of his Hades magic, Death Boy."

"Don't worry about me! It shouldn't take any magic to beat you." Nico smirked, drawing up his sword vertically. Will mimicked his movements, and they stood opposite each other at the ready.

Will attacked first; clearly, spending so much time in the infirmary hadn't affected his speed, because he came at Nico with no mercy. Nico sidestepped so that Will's blow wouldn't come at him directly and blocked easily. This didn't seem to faze Will, though, as he turned swiftly, catching Nico off balance with a blow to his shoulder. Nico blocked, but just barely, and was forced to back off. The two were finding that they were fairly equally matched. Will was more likely to enter into an attack with less regard, but while he was more reckless, his speed made him a good match for Nico, who was more calculating. 

Finally, Nico gained the upper hand by faking a blow to the left and whipping around quickly to the right, using a bit of Will's signature speed in his own tactics. Nico pulled back his Stygian iron blade before it did any real damage to will, but the flat side still hit him in the side with a solid thwack. 

Will moaned. "Gods, di Angelo. You're tougher than you look."

Nico took less pleasure in his victory than he wanted to; it wasn't easy to congratulate himself when Will was holding his side with one hand, his sword gripped limply in his other. 

Instinctually, Nico moved towards Will, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "You okay?" 

Will's blue eyes met his, and thankfully they were still sparkling and good-humored. "Yeah, yeah, it's fine. No damage done."

Nico was suddenly all too aware of the fact that he and Will were just inches apart, and he removed his hand from his shoulder.

"Thanks for the practice," Will said earnestly. "I definitely needed some kind of incentive to get away from the infirmary."

Nico managed a small smile in his direction. "Yeah. Bet you're going to head straight back there, though."

Will looked as if he wanted to say something teasing back, but in the end he just grinned and shrugged. "Yeah. Can't stay away. But hey, it's my calling and all that. You coming, too?" His eyes were hopeful. 

Color continued to rise to Nico's cheeks, but it didn't make him quite as uncomfortable any longer. Being around Will was still a little nerve wracking and extremely exciting, but in a way, the other boy felt like home. "Yeah, guess I'm coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey. Long time, no see. Sorry about the unplanned hiatus!
> 
> In more news about MCMS, I'm going to cut this fic off at 7 chapters. I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo come November, so I want to finish this up within the next few days. On the bright side, that means y'all should get a lot of chapters at once!
> 
> Are any of y'all doing NaNoWriMo? If so, definitely let me know! We could be writing buddies!
> 
> I'll talk to you guys soon!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
